Ruth Owens

Witness

2023

Temi Wynston Edun is a contemporary abstract figurative artist who lives and works in Columbia, Maryland. Born in Ibadan, West Africa, the first of six children, his intense and broo...

Temi Wynston Edun is a contemporary abstract figurative artist who lives and works in Columbia, Maryland. Born in Ibadan, West Africa, the first of six children, his intense and brooding portraits explore social, political, and psychological themes of the Black experience. His engaging figures capture phenotypic features of people of sub-Saharan heritage that he calls “Africanness” in a unique and distinctive use of mark making. Scale portraits and figures, usually isolated in spare or abstract backgrounds, emphasize the facial stares and expressions of the subjects, transporting the viewer to a level of intimacy and engagement with the work. This intimacy is the focal objective of the artist’s creations. Nothing tells the story of humanity like the face of a human. I am fascinated by faces and the stories they tell, I look for "interesting faces" more so than beautiful ones. But, to me, interesting is not enough. A portrait must be engaging and emotive, be able to tell a story without words and to communicate with the viewer in an unspoken dialogue of innovative ideas and insights, and of some shared experiences. From an early age, Edun’s talent was recognized. He won multiple awards as a child including a competition in 1979 for his design of a poster commemorating UNESCO’s International Year of the Child. While a teenager studying at Edo College in Benin City, Nigeria (high school), his portrait of the Oba of Benin (the traditional ruler of the Edo people) was presented to the Oba. In 1984, Wynston earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria, where he graduated with honors. One of his large-scale metal sculptures is still exhibited in a garden at the university. After graduation, Edun had exhibitions of his work in both Benin City and in Lagos, Nigeria. In 1990, after migrating to the U.S., he received a commission to design a work of art for the Howard University Gospel Choir. From 1990 to 1993, Wynston worked and studied under internationally acclaimed Baltimore-based artist Larry “Poncho” Brown...

Temi Wynston Edun is a contemporary abstract figurative artist who lives and works in Columbia, Maryland. Born in Ibadan, West Africa, the first of six children, his intense and brooding portraits explore social, political, and psychological themes of the Black experience. His engaging figures capture phenotypic features of people of sub-Saharan heritage that he calls “Africanness” in a unique and distinctive use of mark making. Scale portraits and figures, usually isolated in spare or abstract backgrounds, emphasize the facial stares and expressions of the subjects, transporting the viewer to a level of intimacy and engagement with the work. This intimacy is the focal objective of the artist’s creations. Nothing tells the story of humanity like the face of a human. I am fascinated by faces and the stories they tell, I look for "interesting faces" more so than beautiful ones. But, to me, interesting is not enough. A portrait must be engaging and emotive, be able to tell a story without words and to communicate with the viewer in an unspoken dialogue of innovative ideas and insights, and of some shared experiences. From an early age, Edun’s talent was recognized. He won multiple awards as a child including a competition in 1979 for his design of a poster commemorating UNESCO’s International Year of the Child. While a teenager studying at Edo College in Benin City, Nigeria (high school), his portrait of the Oba of Benin (the traditional ruler of the Edo people) was presented to the Oba. In 1984, Wynston earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria, where he graduated with honors. One of his large-scale metal sculptures is still exhibited in a garden at the university. After graduation, Edun had exhibitions of his work in both Benin City and in Lagos, Nigeria. In 1990, after migrating to the U.S., he received a commission to design a work of art for the Howard University Gospel Choir. From 1990 to 1993, Wynston worked and studied under internationally acclaimed Baltimore-based artist Larry “Poncho” Brown...

Temi Wynston Edun is a contemporary abstract figurative artist who lives and works in Columbia, Maryland. Born in Ibadan, West Africa, the first of six children, his intense and brooding portraits explore social, political, and psychological themes of the Black experience. His engaging figures capture phenotypic features of people of sub-Saharan heritage that he calls “Africanness” in a unique and distinctive use of mark making. Scale portraits and figures, usually isolated in spare or abstract backgrounds, emphasize the facial stares and expressions of the subjects, transporting the viewer to a level of intimacy and engagement with the work. This intimacy is the focal objective of the artist’s creations. Nothing tells the story of humanity like the face of a human. I am fascinated by faces and the stories they tell, I look for "interesting faces" more so than beautiful ones. But, to me, interesting is not enough. A portrait must be engaging and emotive, be able to tell a story without words and to communicate with the viewer in an unspoken dialogue of innovative ideas and insights, and of some shared experiences. From an early age, Edun’s talent was recognized. He won multiple awards as a child including a competition in 1979 for his design of a poster commemorating UNESCO’s International Year of the Child. While a teenager studying at Edo College in Benin City, Nigeria (high school), his portrait of the Oba of Benin (the traditional ruler of the Edo people) was presented to the Oba. In 1984, Wynston earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria, where he graduated with honors. One of his large-scale metal sculptures is still exhibited in a garden at the university. After graduation, Edun had exhibitions of his work in both Benin City and in Lagos, Nigeria. In 1990, after migrating to the U.S., he received a commission to design a work of art for the Howard University Gospel Choir. From 1990 to 1993, Wynston worked and studied under internationally acclaimed Baltimore-based artist Larry “Poncho” Brown...

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